


Shield of Judas.

by erena



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Bad Puns, Character Death, Dark Comedy, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mercenaries, Past Chi-Chi/Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, So Wrong It's Right, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:41:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24777064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erena/pseuds/erena
Summary: " I'm the proud owner of My Lil' Cottage. No way."Life in not easy, if you're a discharged war veteran.Well, it's not easy if you're a mercenary either.[Cell/Goku][Everything goes downhill from there~]
Relationships: Cell/Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	Shield of Judas.

**Author's Note:**

> It's official, i'm focused on the bugboy that will never come back in the Dragon Ball franchise.  
> I'm NoT BiTtEr. 
> 
> But! Do we need more of Cell/Goku in this fandom?  
> Yes, yes we do!!!  
> I kinda like the title. It's the first time, lol.. . I'll explain it at the end of the fiction, that will be kinda short - five chapters max?  
> I hove you'll stick with me to the end! 
> 
> I have to say three things, though:  
> 1\. Please be mindful of the PTSD tag: we'll have a character suffering from PTSD, recovery issues and PTSD episodes, so if you find this triggering, please don't read.  
> 2\. Some characters in this story have a really HEAVY black humour, and will make fun of people in the worst ways. They will mock really sensitive topics (you'll se in other chapters), so please take care of your mental health and avoid this story if you're sensitive to black humour.  
> 3\. Forgive my mistakes, i'm not a native speaker. Im doing my best, feel free to point out my flaws!!  
> You'll find, in the end notes, a list of the possible triggers for every chapter. Check on it if you want to have an idea of the contents!
> 
> Spread the Cell/Goku everywhere!!!!
> 
> C U!

> **SHIELD OF JUDAS**
> 
> * * *

17 of June. 

_That house in the woods._

When they broke up and Goku left her house, Chichi didn't really want him to go to live in the woods - but as usual as all the things concerning Goku, her hopes crumbled upon the harsh reality; he _really_ went to live in the woods, in his old family house.

He was out of her life, sure, and that helped her feeling better and thinking with a clear mind on their situation - and she finally managed to accept that Goku wasn't, and never had been, her white knight in a shining armor. There were lots of things she loved about him, but they weren't as much as the behaviours and personal traits she didn't like. So she healed, yes, and she overcame the burning feeling of failure - for having lost time over a childish obsession instead of focusing on herself and what she really wanted.

Still, again, she never wanted Goku to live in his solitary house in the woods. It wasn't good for him, and most of her fears became reality when, eleven months after their break up, she finally yielded and checked on Goku... finding him in an almost feral state, living like a humanoid beast in the middle of nowhere. Of course, he was still the mostly harmless, adorkable man that she fell in love with... But he was regressing again, forgetting to, in order:

  * washing his clothes (if he ever wore them at all...),
  * keeping his house in a decent state (when she came to visit that first time, she found that the weeds had almost eveloped the dome-shaped house),
  * and generally taking care of himself like a funcional adult should.



It was clear that Goku was not a funcional adult - he never had been, in all honesty, not even when they were together since Chichi had been the one providing to their welfare - and the fact that he was a discharged war veterain only made things worse. Chichi knew he still had a bad case of PTSD from the years he had served under the Ginyu's Force, and sadly she had thought that love coud heal him: she had been wrong. Not that their relationship made things _worse,_ no, but soon she had to face the fact that she hadn't had the skills to help him. Not when her fiancé still woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat, not when even the sounds of fireworks would easily trigger him... And not when, even at the peak of their relationship, Goku still bear with him a baggage that an untrained person would be unable to deal with.

He really needed specific, constant help - a kind of help Chichi couldn't give to him. But at least she could help him get back on his feet, finding a way to make money, and more or less dragging him to the therapy he disperately needed.

She had to check with his relatives first, of course: since they weren't together anymore, Chichi had no right to rock his world - and even if his parents and sibling had been terrifying unaware of his problems, she just couldn't force herself upon the way of life he had chosen.

She sometimes felt like she was the only adult in Goku's life, though.

" I've signed you on Booking and Tripadvisor," Chichi said while doing the thing she was used to: cooking an injustified amount of food for her ex fiancé. She had overcame the disgust of the still thrashing fishes he had brought for lunch - caught straight from the river that was nearby his house - and she had started working on them at the best of her cooking skills, desperately trying to ignore the little voice in her head that was asking if they were safe to consume. Cooking them would do the magic, right? God, she hoped so: Goku's stomach was made of steel and he probably would be just fine, but she wasn't as faithful about her innards.

" Oh. Did you? " Goku asked from the dinner table, still dripping wet from his fishing session. She would have yelled at him, if they were still together... But now she had only helplessy asked why he didn't buy a fishing pole like any normal person out there ( the only answer she got had been a confused face and then a shrug). " What for?"

She stopped mid-work, straightening her grip on the knife she was using to cut kales, and it took her a good two minutes before she could be able to ask in a normal voice: " we've talked about this before, Goku. You have to make money."

" But i have my retirement fee," he answered, and if she had had a penny for every time she had heard that, she would be millionaire by now.

The early _But i have my salary_ when he was a soldier under Ginyu had become _But i have the world tournament prize_ when he left the army and started going around to fight the best opponent he could find at the WMT, which had slightly changed in _I have my retirement fee_ in the last months of their engagement.

But her rebuke never changed. " You cannot rely only on it. "

"... Why not? "

She threw a glance over her shoulder, trying to not throwing daggers with her eyes and failing miserably. " It won't kill you being a responsible adult for once in your life, Goku."

His usual open face shifted into a half-pout. " I think i'm doing well."

... It could be worse, she had to admit, but that didn't mean he was _doing good_. " Are you sure? And what if Ginyu didn't manage to give you the retirement fee? " She had asked that question thousands of times, but it never root in Goku's head: sure, Ginyu had had a weak spot for him and actually made some twirls and sommersault to make the Frieza's Empire Government recognizing his retirement fee, even if Goku left the Ginyu Force by himself... But what if he hadn't? Or if they'd take it from him for whatever reason?

" But he did. "

Sweet gods, he was so stubborn! Chichi really didn't want to yell at him, she did it more than once during their engagement... But her voice came out higher than she intended. " And **WHAT** **IF** he didn't?! " She punched the cutting board off pure frustration, and she immediately regretted it.

Goku didn't take well sudden and loud sounds and she had no _right_ over him and he was trying to do his _best_ and she knew that her constant rants weren't _helpful_ \- " I'm sorry," she blurted out quickly, turning to face him; she was on the verge of tears, and she fought back the urge to cover her face. " Goku, i'm _sorry,_ i can't... "

Chichi stopped mid-sentence, due to the look in Goku's eyes. He was rarely angry or bitter, but she had too much ofter seen him with that... _gone_ expression. Like he was no longer here. And she feared it more than his anger of spiteful remarks.

Goku's jaw moved like he was going to talk, but nothing came out. He tried twice, looking towards a point just above her shoulder, his mind far away, and when his mouth closed she could feel his heavy swallow, like Goku was trying to push back bile. Cold sweat rose on his forehead, and Chichi knew that if she tried to touch him, he would be burning hot.

" ... And _what if_ i died during one of the purges?" He quietly asked with a voice she didn't recognize, too faw away from his skin that he wasn't even trying to take hold of the table in front of him or even the chair he was sitting on, in an attempt of grounding himself. He wasn't even trying to recognize what was real among the things his eyes were looking at. " What if... "

She came closer to him with shaking legs. _I should help him recovering, but all i am able to do is hurting him._ She was really the worst, wasn't she? She had never believed when someone said that they broke up with their lover for their sake, but apparently life was a neverending learning journey.

" Goku, look at me." Chichi said quietly, fighting back the urge to bring his face towards her: she didn't know a lot about PTSD, but she could figure out that touching someone during an episode wasn't the best idea. So she kept her voice low, staying in his peripheral vision without being in front of him, so he would have the time to focus on her. " You're right: you're doing good. I only think that you can do even _better,_ do you agree with me?"

Goku answered with only a quiet _hmmm,_ still not there completely. But it was better than nothing, and Chichi had to work with what she had. " You have a nice house, big enough to have a guest sometimes. You don't have to do it, if you don't want to, but why not trying?" That was reasonable, wasn't it? _Keep it up Chichi,_ she said to herself, _be reasonable and gentle. And he will follow your lead... As he always did_.

 _Until he didn't,_ she added to a deeper part of herself, but it wasn't the point right now. Being a little butthurt was inevitable but she could manage to control herself.

" ...lent... "

" ...You have to be louder, Goku. I can't hear you."

He cleared his throat after a moment of silence. " I said, what if i have an episode? And i become... violent? " He threw a glance at Chichi, finally looking at her - that was a good sign.

" You will not." Chichi said with force. " You've never been violent when we were together, and i've always felt safe to be around you." Her eyebrow quirked up. " Your therapist said you're suitable for customers-facing jobs, you'd know that if you'd have listened to her for once. You need therapy to heal your wounds, but you are not a threat for people, Goku."

" No veteran is a threat," Goku said quietly. " Some of us only need... help."

 _If only you would accept help_... Chichi added to helself. " You're right. Then why don't try with the Bed and Breakfast? It will grant you an income, and it's not like you're going to have customers _tomorrow_ \- we'll have plenty of time to figure this out. And if it doesn't work... Then it doesn't work. No pressure."

Goku looked like he was weightening her words; then a tentative smile crawled on his face. " I can try. I mean, what can go wrong? "

" Lots of things, actually," Chichi said, folding her arms under the man's surprised gaze, " because we're going to turn this whole house upside down, if you're going to have customers."

" But my house is clea... "

" It have to be _cleaner."_

Goku opened his mouth to protest, but he knew better than arguing with Chichi on houseworks. " Um, okay."

" Okay?"

" Yep."

" We're good?"

The man chuckled. " Yyeepp," he said popping the p.

" Great. Would you like to have a look on your Booking profile?" Chichi said, going into full business mode." I've done the profile myself, but i'd be nice your opinion on the matter."

She reached for her bag, taking out her smartphone and switching it to life. She sat down on the opposite of Goku's side, the lunch long forgotten - but she knew that sooner or later Goku would remember about it... He was a saiyan, after all . " One thing we have to fix is your wi-fi, dear. It barely works - look, ten second to open Google, my God," she shook her head in disbelief.

" It's... Typical."

" _Typical?"_

" Yeah. Like local dishes, but it's bad working wifi instead. For a house in the top of a mountain. " Goku nodded to underline his beliefs, but Chichi just looked up at him, deadpanned.

" You're so full of hope, dear."

Goku rolled his eyes and murmured _still typical_ under his breath, while Chichi made a mental post-it to contact the wifi provider as soon as possible.

" Of course, there is no rating on your profile yet. I've signed you less than a week ago, and i've added only storage photos of your house. They accepted the sign up three days ago, but we have to update your profile..."

Goku tilted his head, bending over the table towards Chichi. " How did you called my Bed and Breakfast? "

" My Lil' Cottage."

Goku's eyes grew wider. " You can't be serious."

Chichi shrugged, waiting for the charge of Booking's homepage - damn, she _really_ had to talk as soon as possible to the wifi provider...

" But... It sounds stupid!"

" Well, be productive next time and come up with a name yourself!" Chichi shouted, midly offended. Finally she could type _My Lil' Cottage_ in the search tab.

" It's not like i knew... "

" _Shhhh,"_ she cut him out. " Be a sweetheart and shut up. The name is kinda cute, trust me." Another ten second for his personal profile, goddamn.... " I think you can change it, if you really don't like it."

Goku hid his face behind his palm, but she could see his smirk. " I'm the proud owner of My Lil' Cottage. No way."

The blue and white template of Booking finally showed up, and Chichi focused all her attention on it. She had shit to do! " As i said before, you're not going to have customers..." She stopped mid sentence. She stared at the screen of her phone for ten whole seconds, eyes bawling out, and then she opened her mouth to squeak, _"...right away?"_

Goku's hand fell from his face, crashing on the table with a loud sound. He had noticed the change on Chichi's face.

" It can't be."

She was still looking at her phone in disbelief, but then she looked up with a mix of emotion on her features that would make proud Picasso himself.

" Eh... **Eeeek!"** She screeched when she saw Goku crawling on the table, crossing it on all fours and jumping off it before she could rebuke him for crawling with shoes on the table.

" Do i have a customer _already?!"_

"... " Chichi just showed him his Booking profile. Goku never got used to internet or even the intergalactic net, using his scouter or his smarthphone only when it was absolutely needed; still, there was no mistake - he really got a reservation: the profile pic of his client was too little to really single out something, being only a rounded image in low resolution, but at least he could see that it was human, or at least humanoid.

He blinked twice, narrowing his eyes. " _Little Daddy's Princess?"_

A woman, yes. That had booked a room for a month - _what kind of person could afford a month-long holiday?!_ Thought Chichi, knowing that the thing that didn't set well with her was the fact that the booker was a woman. She couldn't help but be just a little jealous of Goku - a _girl_ for a _month_ in his _house._ The house they made love in, when they were together.

 _But we're no longer engaged. This is not the moment to be territorial!_ But still, she was. And she had figured a way to avoid this unknow woman in Goku's house. " Maybe it's too early. We have to set everything up first, don't you think? We should erase the reservation."

" Oh." Goku said. A part of Chichi felt horrible when the man littlerally deflated like a balloon - he had been excited to have such an early client, even if ten minutes ago he had been against the idea - but Goku was the kind of man that went with the flow, once he got in the stream.

" What if _Little Daddy's Princess_ is already on a plane or something? We can't just tell her that she doesn't have a reservation anymore!"

" The booking had been ordered today, this morning," Chichi pointed out, checking the time of the reservation. " No one can arrage a month-long travel in... Five hours, Goku."

That was true, but a dick move too. No one could be sure of that, except for _Little Daddy's Princess,_ and even if it was true that they really had to figure some things out before welcoming people in Goku's house, it was still a Bed and Breakfast: it's not like it needed the government's permit to work. She had already filled a week ago the few, necessary documents for that matter.

Chichi opened the profile pic, out of sheer curiosity, and the image of a cutie popped out, a little blurred by a low-quality photo; she had a blonde bob, ends styled to point straight to the floor ( not a single hair was untidy), and she was holding a glass filled with ice cubes and an orangey liquid. A big pair of sunglasses filled in the blanks, conceiling her eyes - still, it was clear the girl was really pretty and probably rich too. There was nothing in the photo that gave away any clue of where she was from, but the picture had been taken in another travel for sure, because the girl had the perfect appaerance of someone living their best life on a cruise or something like that.

 _Really, she only need a crown of fake flowers around her neck and she can be hired in a holiday commercial,_ Chichi thought dryily. " I'll call her, and i'll tell that we're having thermal problems in the structure and we have to cancel her reservation," she added, hoping to sound casual.

" I think we should listen to what she has to say first," Goku said, " in case she's already on her way."

Chichi fought back the urge to scream. " Why you're so _eager_ to do this if ten minutes ago you were litterally against it? It's beyond me." She sounded annoyed to her own ears, but she couldn't help it; Goku threw a glance at her face, dark eyes gleaming, and he just said, " Call her, will you?"

She knew better that starting an argument now that Goku was clearly trying to avoid it ( he always tried to avoid arguments), and she did as she was told.

In the brief moment between the first few rings and the moment the girl picked up the call, Chichi wondered how she was supposed to call her. _Hello, i'm calling from_ My Lil' Cottage, _is there_ Little Daddy's Princess?

Oh God, it was _ridiculous._

Someone picked up the call from the other line, and a moment of utter silence followed, no breaths whatsoever.

Weird.

It was clear that someone had answered though... " Hello? I'm calling from My Lil' Cottage...?"

The silence grew, and Chichi looked at Goku quizzically and he shook his head, being as lost as her. Then, finally, a far _...llo?_ _Hellooo? My God the line here is the worst_ could be heard from the speakers.

" Hi, do you hear me? Hello, um... " _Don't say Little Daddy's Princess, don't say..._

" Yeah! Yeah! I can hear you! " A deep voice, unmistakably female though, answered with relief in her tone. " Oh my God. Sorry for the line, it must be my phone..."

" No, don't worry. It's fine. I hear you," Chichi reassured, rolling her eyes at Goku that silently cheered up at the conquer. " Can you just speak a little louder? "

" **Sure!"** The girl shouted. " Nice to hear you, my name is Lazuli. I've booked your room for the month, i guess you found my reservation?"

" Yeah," Chichi said, " about that... "

" Good! My brother's trip is safe, whew! I'm sorry if i booked with my account, but my brother doesn't have one. I'll give you his ID code, though, is there any problem?"

Chichi tried at her best to speak over the girl's rants, but Lazuli didn't gave her the _time_ to answer. " He is always on job's trip, and i do all the planning - woman do it best, am i right?"

A cheerful laugh filled Chichi's ears, but she couldn't help but stare at Goku with a lost expression. What the _hell_ was with his girl?! " He is such an absent-minded guy, if i wasn't here he would probably sleep under a _rock,_ can you believe it? I was so excited when i found your Bed and Breakfast, it looks so nice and tidy! It's the best place for someone like him - he _loves_ quiet places. And his boss booked up his trip with _so little_ forewarning, sometimes i hate that guy! You have no idea the hostels my bro slept into, but this time we got lucky!"

Goku was putting holes in her face, Chichi could feel that: it was clear his opinion on the matter - and he was the owner of the house, after all... 

" But! Were you trying to tell me something about the Bed and Breakfast?"

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings:  
> Description of PTSD and medic treatments. Mentions of PTSD episodes, and correlate triggers.  
> Discussions about war veterans, and the aftermath of being a soldier.  
> Possessive behaviours towards ex-fiancée.


End file.
